“Shortly after Obama took office in 2009, he changed the title of the organization from the National Security Council staff to the National Security Staff, a modification made to note the inclusion of homeland security officials in the operation.

“The name change, which went unnoticed by all but several hundred people in the country, didn’t go over well with the staff, many of whom wanted the prestige of the National Security Council imprimatur on their resumes.

“The venerable NSC designation is recognized throughout Washington and around the world, but the newer NSS formulation doesn’t carry as much heft. The change to NSS has been a sore point among the staff since it was made.”

In a White House blog post, National Security Council spokeswoman Caitlin Hayden said the name change reflects a “successful merger” of national security and homeland security officials.

“The original goal was to end the artificial divide between White House staff dealing with national security and homeland security, and avoid stovepipes that could arise in the face of multiple threats that ignore the foreign-domestic divide,” Hayden said. “Given that the merger has done just that, and we are well aligned and organized to meet complex 21st century threats with the re-organization, we can revert to our historic and well recognized name.”